La Guerra in Vietnam continua...

PAVN Infantry Company (VBX13)




The bộ đội, foot soldiers, are the core of the infantry companies. As the troops of B3 Front are some of the best in the PAVN, they have an almost equal mix of the newer AK47 assault rifles and older SKS carbines. The squad automatic
weapon is the RPD machine-gun, a modernised, belt-fed version of the WWII-era DP ‘record player’ machine-gun. Each squad also contains a B40 rocket launcher, a Chinese copy of the Soviet RPG-2.

Prezzo Scontato 25,50€


PAVN Infantry Battalion HQ (VBX12)




The basic unit of the PAVN is an infantry battalion called a Tiểu Đoàn Bộ Binh (pronounced tee-eh-oo daw-an boh bin), or just a Tiểu Đoàn, a battalion. The battalion commander is a Thiếu Tá or Major, but is usually referred to in typical revolutionary fashion as a D Trưởng or D Leader (after the code for a battalion, ‘D’).

Prezzo Scontato 29,80€


M132 'Zippo' (VBX08)




The M132 was an M113 APC modified into a mobile flame thrower. The cupola was replaced with the M10-8 flame gun and the passenger compartment was taken up by four 50 gallon (190 litre) spherical flame fuel tanks.

Nicknamed the ‘Zippo’ after a popular brand of cigarette lighter, the M132 can flame for 32 seconds at a range of up to 200m. In Vietnam the battalion flame-thrower platoons were used to burn out Vietnamese machine-gun nests, as well as more mundane tasks like clearingn bush from around fire bases.

Prezzo Scontato 34,00€


M113 APC (VBX06)




The M113 APC (armoured personnel carrier) was developed to fill the same role as the WWII M3 half-track carrying infantry up to the edge of the battlefield safe from artillery and longrange fire. In Vietnam the mechanised infantry battalions used their M113 ‘tracks’ much more aggressively.

The 25th ‘Tropic Lightning’ Division fitted ‘Okinawa’ pattern gun shields to their commander’s machine-gun and fired the squad M60 machine-gun over the side, only dismounting when necessary for patrolling or security.

Prezzo Scontato 34,00€


PAVN Weapons Companies (VBX14)




The PAVN weapons companies were equipped with an array of different armaments for a diverse number of roles. Much of the equipment was Chinese copies of either Soviet weapons or American equipment that was captured during the conflict in Korea.

For example, the Type 52 recoilless rifle was a copy of the American M20 75mm recoilless rifle and the Type 53 82mm mortar were copies of the old, but reliable Soviet 82-BM-37 battalion mortar.

Perhaps no piece of equipment was more important than the Type 54 12.7mm Anti-aircraft machine-gun. The American forces relied heavily on the helicopter for mobility, firepower and supply and any capability to threaten this dependence was welcomed by the communist forces.

Prezzo Scontato 18,70€


Lt. Col. Moore's Firebase (VBX11)




The Rifle Company (Airmobile) was a lean organisation transported and supplied by helicopter. It fields three rifle platoons under a captain, supported by a mortar section in the company headquarters. In theory it also had an anti-tank section with recoilless rifles, but these were left in the United States as the PAVN was not expected to field tank units, and if they did, heavier weapons would take care of them.


Prezzo Scontato 22,10€


US Rifle Company (VBX10)





Rifle platoons in Vietnam were never up to strength. Between soldiers off sick, those on leave, and casualties waiting to be replaced, a ten-man squad was lucky to have eight men available on any given day.


Prezzo Scontato 29,80€


PAVN Divisional Fire Support (VBX15)





Equipped with an array of different armaments for a diverse number of roles; the PAVN Divisional Support was armed with equipment that was either Chinese copies of Soviet equipment or actual Soviet-made weapons.

For example, the Type B10 82mm recoilless gun was Soviet-made and much more modern than the WWII-era 75mm examples used at the regiment level and provided a better anti-tank capability. While the Type 53 120mm mortar were copies of the Soviet 120-BM-38 heavy mortar and were capable of firing a round more powerful than the American 105mm howitzer.


Prezzo Scontato 34,00€


M551 Sheridan (VBX05)





The M551 Sheridan was developed as an amphibious cavalry tank or air-landing tank capable of tackling Soviet tanks. As a result its main armament was an anti-tank missile launcher that could also fire conventional shells. Getting this complex weapon system to work delayed the introduction of the Sheridan, but it finally reached Vietnam in 1968. Once there, its crews liked its firepower, speed, and ability to cross flooded rice paddies, but missed the thick armour of the much heavier M48 and its ability to smash its way through thick jungle.

Prezzo Scontato 25,50€


M48A3 Patton (VBX04)





The M48 Patton tank was completely modernised version of the WWII M26 Pershing heavy tank, designed to fight Soviet tanks on a nuclear battlefield. Oddly, many of the lessons of WWII had been forgotten and the M48 lacked
a stabiliser and was likely to catch fire when penetrated. Its impressive anti-tank capability was of little use in Vietnam.

Much more useful was the M336 canister round, popularly known as ‘beehive’, filled with 1281 steel pellets that turned the tank’s main gun into a giant shotgun. The crews often moved the commander’s machine-gun from inside the cupola to on top of it, added another for the loader.

Prezzo Scontato 22,10€


AH-1G Hueycobra (VBX01)





The Hogs validated the concept of helicopter gunships leading Bell to design a purpose-built gunship version. The US Army turned them down in favour of a planned heavy gunship that could do just about everything. The unworkable complexity of their design and the accelerating war in Vietnam changed their mind forcing them to accept the lightweight Bell design as the AH-1G Hueycobra.

Prezzo Scontato 14,50€